MILLIONS of pounds has been put aside to fix two landslips in Worcestershire.
The county council will use £5 million of government funding to tackle long-running repairs on the A449 near British Camp in Malvern and on the B4204 at Rochford near Tenbury Wells.
The money is part of a Department for Transport grant worth more than £241m in capital funding over four years and more than £6m a year in revenue spending.
COUNCILLOR: Malcolm Victory has been pushing for updates on the A449 closure for months (Image: Cllr Malcolm Victory.)
This includes cash for highways maintenance, active travel and buses.
Highways chief Tom Wells said: “This is a really pivotal moment. This four-year plan is worth a quarter of a billion pounds and is the biggest investment in transport infrastructure seen in Worcestershire.”
He told a cabinet meeting on Thursday: “This isn’t money we can spend in other areas. We are looking at savings and efficiencies in other areas and sadly we can’t transfer this fund – it is not a golden handshake that we can spend anywhere we like. But it is good news.
“This is effectively the end of a bidding process and sees the allocation of £5m towards fixing two landslips – at Rochford and British Camp.”
Malvern councillor Malcolm Victory said the first repair of the A449, which has been closed for a year, cost £2.2m and “was not nearly as extensive as this one”.
Cllr Wells said the results of a geotechnical survey were due by the end of September and the council was exploring other funding streams in case the £5m was not enough.
He also promised regular updates on the council’s website.
“The bedrock underneath is at least 20 metres below the surface, on a steep-sided bank on the Malvern Hills.”
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He said it cannot be fixed overnight but the council is “pulling out all the stops”.
“If the geotechnical report suggests it is safe to open one side of the carriageway, we will certainly do so. I understand the impact on businesses – particularly the Malvern Hills Hotel – with passing trade reduced, compacted by the closure of Jubilee Drive meaning two of the three accesses to British Camp are closed.”
Cllr Wells said the council had “met with the hotelier” and was working to help the hotel.
Council leader Matt Jenkins said the closures had made “a terrible impact on that business and others in Tenbury”.
“It’s not filling a pothole – this is on a different level,” he said. “We will be doing as much as we can.”
Cabinet approved a highways and transport programme, which will need to be signed off by ministers.
